LoveLeah
by x-rayLady
Summary: After the confrontation with the Volturi, everything seemed to be getting back to its boring self. Until a strange visitor comes knocking at the Cullen’s door. The mythological world is in for another shock when Leah enters the scene.
1. Chapter 1: A Midwinter Night’s mare

**LoveLeah**

_Summary:_ _After the confrontation with the Volturi, everything seemed to be getting back to its boring self. Until a strange visitor comes knocking at the Cullen's door. The mythological world is in for another shock when Leah enters the scene._

**Chapter 1: A Midwinter Night's mare**

I was longing for my warm bed as I drove home on the familiar forest road. Nature made it clear that autumn was really over now and King Winter had started his icy reign. From the hot cabin of my car, I could easily admire the beauty of the frozen forest. On evenings like this, when the road was deserted, the idyllic picture of the trees covered in white snow blankets was really very peaceful. I didn't like the cold, but the beauty of the winter-scenery was hard to resist, especially when I was hot and comfortably inside.

My house and garden were surrounded by forest and some people would say it was a lonely existence. But in fact, I never felt alone in nature, with life so clearly sprouting everywhere around me. I could spend ages staring out of my window, admiring nature. In this season, that time would be mostly spend in my rocking chair by the fire, tucked in blankets, with a cup of hot soup in my hand. Looking out of my window like that, I could find extreme pleasure in watching birds hopping their way through the snow, until they reached the feast of nuts I had placed there for them.

A strange blur of color woke me from my reverie. It was so out of place in the black and white forest that I automatically pressed the brake to investigate. Coming closer now, I saw to my astonishment that the cause was a woman. But her choice of clothes would have been more appropriate for a sunny beach rather than a frozen forest. She was wearing a bright blue T-shirt with a flashy green print. Underneath she had a colorful skirt consisting of several layers and she was barefooted. Although the skirt reached as long as her ankles, it didn't seem warm. From the way the wind played with it, it looked like the fabric was light cotton or linen instead of a thicker woven tissue appropriate for the current temperatures. Her long, honey-colored curly hair was blowing in the wind and she was very pale, presumably because she was cold. She was extremely beautiful and in other circumstances I might have found her attractive, but she had something wild about herself that scared me.

The strange woman smiled when she spotted me and motioned me to come to closer with her finger. I pinched myself and rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't dreaming. But when I opened my eyes again, she was still there, patiently waiting for me to approach. Finally curiosity took the better half of me and I killed my engine. I inhaled the warm air in my car for a last time before opening the door and stepping into the chilly evening out there.

I had barely set two steps, when she was all of the sudden near me and dragged me deep into the forest. Fear was now racing through me, but even when she sank her teeth in my skin, I somehow failed to remember how to scream. The blood sucking stopped as abruptly as it had started and the woman suddenly crouched in a defensive posture, seemingly reacting to an inaudible noise. As if there had still been a doubt about her nature, she let out a snarl so terrifying it couldn't possibly be human. She shoved me under a bush and disappeared into the forest so fast that it was a haze of color for my eyes. Fervently hoping that I'd wake up soon, I was now convinced that I was in a nightmare rather than a dream. It wasn't until the awful burning started, that I knew that not even in my wildest nightmare I could imagine a pain so fierce.

**A/N I am sorry for all the readers who have been hoping for a new chapter for my other fic. Even though I started the new chapter, this one sort of stuck with me and I couldn't focus any longer on my other characters. Anyway, I hope you all like this one too.**

** Tater: If you are reading this story as well, thank you for your advice on my other fic! I tried to keep it in mind for this one as well and I hope I did a good job ;-)**


	2. Chapter 2: La Push, baby, it’s La Push

**Chapter 2: La Push, baby, it's **_**La Push**_

I strolled over to the Cullen's filled with annoyance. It had been two weeks since we chased the Volturi away and in the happy bliss of the aftermath Sam and Jake had decided to make a one-day exception to the treaty. Nahuel and Huilen had finally gone back to the Amazon forest yesterday, so today was to be that very day and everybody was meeting at the First Beach. This whole charade was designed so that Nessie could meet some of the other Quileute's and Bella could catch up with her old friends apart from the members of my pack.

Of course Nessie regularly saw my mom at Charlie's and occasionally Billy too, so I really didn't see the whole point of her meeting more members of my tribe. Bella was another thing, obviously. During the leeches' absence, she had made many friends among us. But she knew La Push would be off limits when she made her choice and it really didn't matter that Edward turned her to save her life in the end. She was already determined to become one of them before Nessie's birth made it a necessity to survive, so according to me, she might as well deal with the consequences of that choice.

I let myself in, only to conclude that the Cullen's were already in full preparation of their trip to the beach of La Push. None of them took notice or offense of my sudden entrée in their home. They never did, obviously my smell was as clear an indication of my arrival as a bell ringing or a knock on the door would be for humans.

"Hey, Leah, while you are here, you might as well make yourself useful," Jake told me when I had been leaning against a wall for about ten minutes.

"Is that an order, oh, almighty Alpha?" I asked sarcastically.

"Oh, come on, Leah, you know better than that," Jake replied, sighing.

Unfortunately he was barely really put up with me; on the contrary, he seemed more worried than anything else. Pity, I would have liked the excuse to send part of my annoyance his way. Not that I needed the excuse to vent, but it just was no fun when he was so patient and caring.

"Imprinted people," I muttered under my breath, but I should have known better. Of course Jake's sensitive wolf ears would pick it up as easily as if I said it out loud.

"Nessie, can you continue here for a while without me? I need to talk to Leah, okay?" I heard him say to Nessie. I assumed she showed him she didn't mind, since he came straight my way.

"Let's take a walk, Leah," he told me, softly but firmly tucking my arm and directing me outside.

"So, what's up? I don't need to phase to see that something is really bothering you lately," he stated matter-of-factly.

Lying would be of no use, he'd see right through me anyway, regardless of the fact that he'd know for sure next time we'd be wolfy. He looked at me intently. It was not the authority of a leader who needs to get his soldiers back on track that I saw in his eyes. His gaze was the one of a caring friend who was genuinely worried.

I sighed deeply. Authority was something I could fight, especially since Jake would never force an Alpha order on me. But this love, no, that made me defenseless. So I did the only thing I could do and I took a deep breath and let it all off my chest.

"It's all this happiness, Jake, it's unbearable," I complained.

"I see nothing but people in love around me, including those stupid leeches. It's not fair!"

"At home, it would be one big happy family if it weren't for me. Mum is so clearly in love with Charlie that it's almost painful and Seth is just a happy kid by default. Even Billy joined in, since he is still so obviously thrilled to have Rachel back around! And then I have not even started about all those bloody imprinted people! It makes me wanna sink my teeth in some stinky leech so badly."

"When is the wedding again?" Jake asked, talking about Sam and Emily's marriage.

"In three weeks," I replied, sighing, not really looking forward to having to smile in the midst of more cheering people.

"Well, if you are in luck, your Mr. Perfect will be one of the guests," Jake teased, smiling.

"Hmpf," I tried to be stubborn, but Jake had a point and his laughter was contagious.

But Jake was already serious before my faint laughter died out.

"You know, I've been there. I wouldn't hold it against you if you went all-wolf to escape," Jake pointed out.

"It's not that, Jake, I love Emily too much to hurt her like that. And Sam too, for that matter. Being in a separate pack really sped up the healing process, plus I've seen enough of imprinting happening to understand they had no choice. It's just, I feel like such an alien, Jake, surrounded by all these happy people. It seems like I no longer belong in their world and I hate it."

"I see," he said and I knew he really did. After all, before he laid eyes on Nessie, he'd been there too.

"I mean, I was okay with all this, as long as we were facing a crisis, but now I feel so useless and out of place," I concluded.

"Well, we can always ask Alice to find us some bad-ass leech to kill. That surely would prove you are needed in this world," Jake chuckled.

"Now, there's an excellent idea," I grinned and I really did feel better. Since even though I didn't believe Alice's visions were that good, it made me realize I still had a purpose here. Maybe I wasn't part of the happiness yet, but I surely could protect the ones that already were. As long as evil leeches like the Volturi existed, there was a place for me in this world.

"I am gonna go for a run, now. Maybe today is my lucky day," I announced.

Jake just nodded and warned me not to start a party without me, before inevitably wandering back to his imprinted one.

I phased as soon as he turned his back on me and let the smell of the forest fill my longs before enjoying the thrill of speed. The icy ground and the frozen leaves were no match for my well-equipped oversized paws. Soon I was at top speed, not even hindered one bit by the slippery underground. The forest filled my senses and I was one with nature now, breathing it in with every bit of air I sucked in. It felt so damn good, that I almost regretted not taking Jake's offer to go all-wolf. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all, just for a few days, perhaps… If I returned in time for the wedding, nobody would get hurt, right?

**A/N For those of you who haven't seen the movie, or haven't seen it quite so many times as I have (yeah, I know, I am addicted, lol, but admitting is the first step to healing, right?), the title refers to a quote of Eric, when trying to convince Bella to join the group trip to the beach. Bella replies "Yeah, I'll go if you stop saying that." On which Mike comments "Seriously, Dude, it's creepy!"**


	3. Chapter 3: The first day of forever

**Chapter 3: Today is the first day of forever**

_Previously on lovely: The unidentified narrator has just come to realize that the encounter with a wild female figure might have been a bit worse than a mere nightmare… (uh, yeah, I guess we all know by now which kind of not-so-human thing she is, no?)_

The hideous fire burned through my veins remorselessly and it really didn't help to compose myself. Since I didn't know how deep or where in the forest I had been pulled, my hopes of making it back to my car were slim. So even if I was lucky enough to be able to move in my state at all, reaching a hospital for help was probably too much to ask.

There was nobody waiting for me at home, or anywhere else for that matter, and the road I had been driving on was too deserted for anyone to notice my car soon. So screaming for aid would probably turn out to be just a waste of air, as it was still too early for a search party to have scrambled.

Even though I tried, moving made my pain even more unbearable and I just couldn't bring myself to even get up. My suffering seemed worse than dead, so my only hope for solace lay apparently in the woman returning to finish the job. Because whoever, or more importantly _whatever_, she was, it was clear her intentions with me had been a little bit more deadly than playing around.

So that was it, then, the only thing I could hope for now was that my death would come quickly and peacefully. And I wouldn't mind the peaceful part to start right now, because frankly, my current state was everything but peacefully.

People were always talking about your life flashing by like a film when facing death, but _my_ thoughts wandered to the little family I had left: my mother and my two sisters. When was the last time I told my mother I loved her? Or my sisters? I contemplated the baby my youngest sister was now carrying that I would undoubtedly never see. I would never know whether I'd have gained a niece or a nephew. I wondered what Ella would say to this child about the uncle it would never have gotten to know. I hoped my godchild, the son of my other sister, would grow up to be a fine young man, perhaps telling his own children someday about his fantastic godfather that used to take him camping and fishing. I really felt sorry for Cam, the kid absolutely adored me and he would probably miss me like hell.

At this moment, I was absolutely grateful that I had never found a girl with whom I wanted to spend my life with. I had been relatively young when my father disappeared, but I clearly remembered the anguish my mother went through. It had taken months, when they had finally found his body, somewhere in the woods. When I was older, I learned of the gossip. When Dad's corpse wasn't immediately found, people had started whispering behind my mother's back that he probably just ran off with someone else. I was outraged when I found out, even after all those years. But it did explain why so many people attended his funeral, when he hadn't been a big personality in society. I guessed that many of them had probably been driven by guilt of speaking ill about the deceased.

It wasn't much fun, growing up without a father, but my mother was a strong woman and she coped. She raised the three of us on her own and had only recently gotten acquainted with another man, a widower for several years now himself. I hoped he would help her through the ugly ordeal of my unfortunate demise.

Lost in morbid thoughts like that for ages, I almost managed to miss that the burning was getting less. At first, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. But sure enough, when I focused harder, I could clearly feel the heat pulling away from me. Oh, great, now I'd have to worry about hypothermia after all. But as more heat dissipated from my body with every second that passed by, I came to realize that the frozen underground didn't feel quite as cold as I expected. I hoped this was the first good sign in ages, instead of an indication that I was loosing my mind completely now.

When the burning had faded away entirely, I attempted getting up. It came as a nasty shock that I was already upright before I even finished the thought. My eyes seemed to have changed as well. If my old eyes had found the winter forest beautiful, that was nothing compared to the little piece of art my new eyes now witnessed. My surroundings had me completely mesmerized, but not all was beauty and wonder, though. In contrast, the throbbing feeling in my throat was far from pleasant. But before I could fully become aware of exactly how painful it was, I experienced something else, something even more urgent. There was this mysterious pull for me to go South. I had no idea what to make of it, but the longer I stood there idly, the more forceful the pull became. So I figured I might as well follow its lead and see where it got me.

**A/N So what do you make of this stranger? And what to think of the mysterious pull he's experiencing? Where do you think it'll get him? Give me your best shot and we'll see who nailed it down perfectly ;-)**

**Oh, and one more thing. I was blown away by the amount of hits I got on this story so far, so I'd love to get to know my readers and their train of thoughts :-)**


	4. Chapter 4: The point of no return

**A/N So, Akira M and I had a nice little chat about longer chapters and I've come to a decision. For where I am going now with the story, little chapters work better for my goal. But since Akira had a point as well, I've made myself a deal. As long as I need the little chappies, you'll get two chapters for the price of one :-) So you all can thank Akira M for this bonus chapter today ;-)**

_Previously on lovely: Leah is so alienated by the happiness surrounding her, that she turns to Nature. She quickly realizes it might become a bit more permanent than anticipated…_

**Chapter 4: The point of no return**

While I was still outweighing pro's and con's in my head, I became aware of a second presence in it. Argh, some people just _didn't _grasp the concept of alone time. I was soooo gonna kick Jake's ass for this.

"Aw, Leah, don't be mad at Jake, he actually told me to leave you alone," Seth whined.

"Then why aren't you, Seth?" I complained to my baby brother, annoyed that he deprived me of an excuse to take it out on Jake

"Cause you're missing all the fun here and I wanted to know what took you so long," he explained.

Okay, so perhaps Seth was a little but more perceptive than I had given him credit for. Because 'wanting to know what took you so long' could be loosely translated as 'I was worried about you'.

"I fail to see the fun in a vampire gathering in a place they shouldn't be," I mocked sarcastically, ignoring on purpose what he was saying between the lines.

"There is plenty of food too," Seth tried to persuade me.

"Perhaps I am not hungry," I retorted.

"Emily baked loads of muffins," he teased, sending me mental images of the said goodies.

It started to work, though. If there was one thing I loved about my cousin above all, then it definitely was her baking skills.

Seth seemed to know he was gaining ground, as he wasted no time to press his case even further.

"And Claire is still in her I-really-love-to-make-fun-of-Quil phase. Don't tell me it wasn't fun last time," he continued.

The kid had a point, on Claire's track-record was, among others, Claire using her newly-gained make-up kit on Quil. I hadn't been there, but I'd seen the pictures, which were just as good.

"Too bad Nessie skipped that phase all-together, no?" Seth ruthlessly continued, trying to imagine Jake with make-up.

I snorted at the sight of his mental pictures.

"Okay, that's it, Seth, you win, I am coming," I finally gave in to him.

Instead of the triumphant jibe I had expected to come from him on my defeat, I was met by slight panic.

"Er and not a minute too soon, I think Jake just found out I was up to a bit more than just a pee break," Seth stuttered.

"Serves you right, bro," I told him off smugly, barking a wolf-laugh.

And sure enough, his presence was gone in an instant and a new presence replaced it.

"Sorry about that, Leah, I should have figured out sooner what was on his mind," Jake apologized.

"It's okay, Jake, it would probably have taken an Alpha order to stop him," I soothed him.

"So, we're cool?" he verified.

"Yeah, we're cool and I am coming down now," I replied.

"Save me some muffins, will ya?" I added.

"Oh, I don't know about that," he teased.

"I am gonna kick your ass if you don't!" I threatened.

"Wooooo, scary," Jake continued and in that instant I realized he only teased me to give me an excuse to let out some frustration. And it was working too.

"Thanks, Jake," I said warmly. He didn't need explaining to understand what I was talking about. One of the benefits of being in each other's head, so to speak.

"Any time, Leah," he smiled, before phasing back and leaving me to my thoughts again.

Jake really did make a good Alpha. He respected his people and did what was best for them. But I wouldn't do him justice if I said it was only that. He was also a caring friend, no more and no less. I guess I really had to thank Bella for her courage, because it was Nessie who had given Jake the peace of mind that made him the leader worthy of following. And regardless of the good outcome, Bella really had been prepared to die giving birth to her daughter. I honestly didn't know if I would have had the guts if it were me in her shoes.


	5. Chapter 5: Sixth sense

_Previously on lovely: Our stranger newborn is following the lead of a strange pull._

**Chapter 5: Sixth sense**

I had followed the pull and it brought me to a herd of deer. At least I thought it did, I couldn't be sure since I had no idea what the purpose of me being here could have been. The run here had also been a strange experience. Everything was so clear, but yet it flashed past me so quickly that I was fairly certain I wasn't running at a human pace. At this speed everything should have been a blur, but it wasn't. I remembered the woman being a blur of colors to my old eyes and understood now why that had been. Once more since the burning had stopped, I wondered what exactly I had become. It would probably be some kind of monster and yet, I didn't feel like a monster. Actually, I felt pretty much like me, plus some additional benefits; like the clear eyesight and the super speed.

But there was also the additional annoying throbbing pain in my throat and without the pull to distract me, it was hard to ignore it. Just as I was contemplating what to do about the burning throat, the wind direction changed. The smell of the deer was now blown directly in my face and suddenly I knew what brought me here. They didn't smell incredibly attractive, but their blood would be warm and it would certainly ease the pain. I took a leap forward and crushed the first deer in reach with my weight and newly found strength. The poor animal never stood a chance. While draining my prey from its blood, the pain was instantly soothed. But the blood of the deer had run out before I was fully satisfied. Taking in account my new speed, I figured the other deer couldn't have made it that far yet. So I sniffed the air and pricked up my ears. And soon enough, my new senses told me they were indeed grazing nearby, close to what seemed to be a forest pool. A smile curled up my lips and with a few leaps, I was already on top of another unsuspecting animal.

This time I had made sure to take the largest animal in the herd, so by the time I was finished with it, my thirst was somewhat quenched. Not quite gone, of course, but at least far more bearable. Snapping the necks of these animals had been as easy as ripping paper had been before my transformation. So that left me wondering how strong I had become exactly. I spotted a boulder and I decided to karate chop it to see what would happen. The pull had returned, driving me in the opposite direction of the boulder. But it was more like a nagging noise in the distance now, so I figured this little stroll would cause no harm.

A few minutes later I was mesmerized, looking at the giant crack I had caused in this boulder. A small piece of stone was broken off and I took it in my hand and squeezed. It completely turned to dust.

"Cool!" I muttered to myself.

To my astonishment I didn't sound like me anymore. My voice was higher and it sounded more like singing. I stood there for a while, lost in thoughts. But then the wind direction changed once more and the sweetest smell ever punched me in the face. Never mind the fact that I wasn't really thirsty now, this prey smelt too good to let go. So I began stalking the smell. A small part of me registered that the mysterious pull became stronger and more demanding now, but the part of me that desperately wanted to drink the blood that came with the smell was much stronger. So I followed my nose and my instincts, but dropped dead when I saw the source of the smell. It was human, a family of hikers to be more exact, consisting of a mother, a father and two kids. Torn between the desire to drink their blood, my own disgust of that desire and the very prominent pull, I stood there frozen. The pull became stronger, to the point that it was extremely painful, so finally I did the only sane thing that I could. I held my breath, followed the pull and ran away from the unsuspecting family as fast as I could.

When the pull was gone, I finally dared breathing again. The air was clean, no trace of human smell left. I stood there, feeling incredibly miserable. I _was_ a monster after all, despite appearances. And worse, if it hadn't been for the incredibly painful pull, I knew that my inner monster would have won from my disgust and I would have killed the poor family. So I curled up in a ball under a bush and I waited for the tears or the sleep to come. I soon found out that my new monster-state would allow neither. And with that new revelation I couldn't help but feel even more miserable…

**A/N My apologies for the small chapter, but this just felt like a good place to stop. I have three fics running now and I am planning to write another chap for one of the other two stories. So sorry, probably you'll have to wait another few days for the next chappie.**


End file.
